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Synonyms

causative

American  
[kaw-zuh-tiv] / ˈkɔ zə tɪv /

adjective

  1. acting as a cause; producing (often followed byof ).

    a causative agency; an event causative of war.

  2. Grammar. noting causation. The causative form of to fall is to fell. Gothic -jan is a causative suffix in fulljan “to cause to be full; to fill.”

noun

  1. Grammar. a word, especially a verb, noting causation, as made in He made me eat the apple.

causative British  
/ ˈkɔːzətɪv /

adjective

  1. grammar relating to a form or class of verbs, such as persuade, that express causation

  2. producing an effect

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. the causative form or class of verbs

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of causative

1375–1425; late Middle English < Latin causātīvus, equivalent to causāt ( us ) caused ( see causation) + -īvus -ive

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

These other things, wholly mental, or spiritual, if you 62 prefer, are based upon that ‘something’ which does endure, and which I will call the Causative Principle.

From Carmen Ariza by Stocking, Charles Francis

Causative Factors: Our study of causation in this case, as we intimated at first, is necessarily incomplete.

From Pathology of Lying, accusation, and swindling: a study in forensic psychology by Healy, William

Amount of Food as a Causative Factor.—Frequency, or infrequency, of bowel movements seems to depend to a great degree on the amount eaten.

From Psychotherapy by Walsh, James J. (James Joseph)

Causative sentences appear to be governed by the same rules as the preceding.

From The Mafulu Mountain People of British New Guinea by Williamson, Robert Wood

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.